Art History I / Attributes, and How Identification Works
Practice question · Select all that apply

Why does Ripa's Iconologia count as evidence about intended meaning rather than modern reconstruction? Select every true statement.

Hints
  1. Three describe the book and its use; one confuses it with later scholarship.
  2. It was published in 1593 and used in the period.
Show the answer
  • A. It is an alphabetical dictionary of personified abstractions
  • B. Painters and patrons used it, so it evidences intended meaning
  • D. It specifies how each concept should be depicted and why
Why

The fourth is the error worth avoiding. Ripa is a period source that painters and patrons consulted, which makes it direct evidence about intended meaning, a very different thing from a modern reconstruction, and much harder to argue with.

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